When American ice dancing champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White, still flushed with Olympic glory from having received the highest point total ever recorded in the sport, signed on to the 18th season of “Dancing With the Stars,” the gold medal winners knew it would be challenging to dance with strangers. But they had no idea how difficult it would be to move, on the floor, in shoes.

“You just feel so stuck on the floor,” says Davis, 27, who has been lacing up figure skates since the age of 3 and ice dancing with White since age 9.

For those of you doing the math, that’s 18 years of gliding across the ice, not bouncing on their feet and gyrating their hips. Truth be told, too much hip action in an ice arena and a skater goes splat.

“We’re kind of unlearning everything we know,” says White, 26, “because when we take steps, we’re definitely doing it wrong. The way I like to move on ice doesn’t look right on the dance floor.”

Which is not to say that this problem can’t be overcome. Olympians have always done well on this show. And Olympic skaters — Apolo Anton Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi and Evan Lysacek — have either won the mirror ball trophy or come in second.

But Sharna Burgess, the “Dancing” pro paired with White, says that these two come in with both tremendous advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that both skaters have had years of ballet training to make their upper bodies graceful. Add to that years of learning to move with another person. “Charlie’s greatest advantage is that he understands how to partner,” says Burgess. “He’s fantastic at doing lifts, and just knowing where the upper body weight needs to be when you’re dancing. His biggest disadvantage is from the ribcage down, trying to get that hip action. Right now, it’s quite awkward.”

For Davis, another possible disadvantage is that she will not be paired with five-time “Dancing” champ Derek Hough. “Dancing” fans who followed the Olympics are well aware that Hough worked with Davis and White last spring, helping to choreograph their top-scoring Olympic short program. But “Dancing” does not allow celebrities to request specific pro partners, and these two didn’t try.

“They just assigned them to us,” says White. “Height is taken into account. But it’s a complete surprise. And that was really nerve-racking for both Meryl and I.”

Burgess thinks the show made a good move in keeping Hough out of the equation. “Half our fans would have been outraged because it would have been giving Derek someone who would be a guaranteed winner,” she says. “No matter who you put her with, she’s going to shine. And Maks is a fantastic teacher.”

“Maks” is Maksim Chmerkovskiy, the hot-headed pro who is returning to the show after taking a two-season break. So far, says Burgess, the pairing of Maks and Meryl is working out very well. But it’s guaranteed not to last, because the show is introducing a new twist that will allow viewers to vote for a change of partners midway through the competition. Davis doesn’t know what to make of that.

“I think it’s a point of confusion because we’re not exactly sure how it’s going to work,” she says. “I’m having a wonderful time training with Maks. And having had coaching my whole life, I think you really build momentum and rapport.”

Davis has more reason to be concerned about the change-up than White. She admits to being “more self-conscious” than her skating partner, and dyslexic to boot, making it harder for her to learn routines.

“Sometimes it’s harder for me to learn choreography,” she says. “It takes a little bit longer. But I work very hard to overcome those challenges.”

The two skaters, repeatedly asked this past year by reporters if they would consider doing “Dancing,” had toyed with the idea for months before the actual invitation. That offer came just after their Olympic triumph, at the point where they had to make a decision whether to compete in the World Figure Skating Championships, which will be held in Japan during the last week of March. They decided to dance instead.

“It’s different from anything we’ve done in the past, and definitely intimidating,” says Davis. “But the thing about finishing this Olympic cycle is that we really accomplished so many of our goals. Having something new and challenging is exciting.”

For the last two weeks, Davis and White have been rehearsing with their respective partners in two separate dance studios in Ann Arbor, Mich., not far from their home towns. For years, these two have been chipping away at college degrees at the University of Michigan. Davis, a senior, is studying cultural anthropology and Italian. White, a junior, is majoring in political science.

But all of that is on hold. Because when the show starts Monday night, these two will be facing another huge disadvantage: No time. They’ve committed to performing in the national tour of “Stars on Ice,” which runs April 4 to May 18. That’s just about the time that “Dancing” becomes much more difficult.

Says Burgess, “Our schedule is really quite insane. But Charlie is such an incredibly driven, focused person that it hasn’t worried me in the slightest.”

One problem Davis and White say they won’t have is facing off with “Dancing’s” celebrity judges, who often create controversy by criticizing the contestants to their faces. But White says that the perception that skaters are walled off from their skating judges is way off base.

“We have worked closely with many judges throughout the years,” says White. “They don’t go easy on us. There are times that we come in with programs at the beginning of the season, and they’ll tell us bluntly — to our faces — that they are not going to work and we have to go back and start from scratch. But we won’t take it personally, and that’s gonna help us a lot [at ‘Dancing’], too.”

No matter what happens, these two will always have each other’s backs.

While never romantically involved, Davis, who is single, and White, who has been dating 2006 Olympic silver medalist Tanith Belbin for more than four years, have a bond stronger than many married couples: 18 years of dreaming, 29,000 hours of practicing, and winning their sport’s highest honor, the Olympic gold, something never before accomplished by an American ice dancing team.

It remains to be seen whether they will ever compete on ice again. But for now, “Dancing” and “Stars on Ice” is a refreshing change of pace, and a time to think.

“I’ve never taken more than two weeks off since I was 5,” says Davis, surprising even herself.

She’s even ready to trade in her famously pale skin for the spray-tan look of the ballroom. “My mom had a bout with skin cancer when I was younger, and my whole family is really cautious in the sun,” says Davis. “So I’ve grown up really taking care of my skin and layering on the SPF. But I don’t think a spray tan ever hurt anyone.”